Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) is urging the use of the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office, claiming his recent actions prove he is unfit to serve. Waters made the call during an MSNBC interview after the president dismissed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a move she described as a dangerous threat to the U.S. economy.
Waters argued that President Trump’s firing of Cook, who faced questions over misrepresented mortgage information, could destabilize financial markets. She warned the action gave Trump excessive influence over Wall Street and placed the nation’s economic security at risk. “This stands to basically upend the entire economy,” Waters said, insisting that immediate action was necessary rather than waiting for the courts.
The 25th Amendment provides a mechanism for the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members to declare the president unable to discharge the duties of the office. If invoked, the president can contest the decision, at which point Congress would have the final say, requiring a two-thirds vote in both chambers. Waters contends that this process should be initiated to “determine his unfitness, to determine that something’s wrong with this president.”
Her remarks add to growing Democrat attacks on President Trump as his administration pursues aggressive economic and immigration policies. By singling out the 25th Amendment, Waters is calling for an extraordinary step that has never successfully removed a sitting president in American history.
While unlikely to succeed given Republican control and Cabinet loyalty to President Trump, Waters’ comments highlight the escalating partisan conflict surrounding the administration’s policies and its authority over independent institutions such as the Federal Reserve.
